LNER4479

On a completely different subject, Tony ... thought you might like to know that, in an echo of its progenitors, No.2007 has made it as far as Aberdeen 😄 (Detail parts yet to be added)

In which case, my bad for not spotting the caveat, despite reading your post several times 🙄 I do think it wasn't the best LB picture you could have chosen to make your point but no matter. Even given the effect you describe, OO layouts can go some way to conveying typical track formations by making a clear distinction between 'six foot' and 'ten foot' spacings. However, all too often, all spacings are the standard 50mm regardless ... which is neither one thing nor the other. But then, that's probably just me astride my own personal hobby horse ...

Hi Stephen, You speak of a subject dear to my heart, even though I be a staunch OO modeller. Can I just confirm therefore that, in posting the above below the recent picture of the WD on a coal train, you appreciate that the tracks either side of the train are set to the 10 foot, not 6 foot. The track to the left of the loco (as viewed) is a refuge siding (not a running line); The track to the right of the loco is the goods yard headshunt. As the 4-track ECML through little Bytham is set out on the slow-fast-fast-slow configuration then the only true 6 foot is between the down and up fast lines in the centre of the formation. Kind regards, Graham

https://www.brassmasters.co.uk/deeley.htm No wheels or motor/gears included with this one. For info generally: Peter habitually sourced wheels and motor/gears when buying a kit, and this is indicated on the list accordingly (most kits, as bought, would not have had these included, the exception being the likes of Alan Gibson). Unless stated, wheels are the older Romford type. Where the kit is currently available, I've quoted the current price and the suggested price is based on approx 50%, with adjustment if wheels & motor/gears have been sourced additionally. There's nothing much wrong with any of them(!) other than the fact many of them were bought 20-30 years ago (you can tell by the price label on the box!)

So, here goes with the first batch 'from the can', whilst more mundane work proceeds. Took these using the 'proper' camera, as more of a milestone snapshot, if you like: Here's how Upperby looked at the end of the running session. Goods yard with a nice selection of wagons to give a flavour of the future. Coaching stock only temporarily positioned to the left, as explained previously. Anyhow, principle objective of the exercise was to remove stock from Upperby (for now) pending further development, so here's the first loco off shed(!) Hornby 'Hornby Dublo' die-cast 46252 (as originally subject to new product review by Tony Wright but now part of the HotN layout stud). Backing down towards ... er ... temporarily positioned coaching stock(!) In years to come, this will of course be a common sight, backing down to Citadel to take over a southbound express. The Midday Scot sets off southbound for London. Although here on the goods lines (out of temporarial necessity), this angle is pretty much how it'll be when properly on the main lines (in the foreground). Now tackling the southbound climb to Shap, a gentler grade but a climb nonetheless. None of the trains appear to be having any problems whatsoever with this incline (@1-in-150). This will all get pretty-fied in due course although it doesn't depict any specific location. And of course, you're all pretty familiar with this scene but always worth another camera frame. Off to Warley this weekend, making a demonstration of myself on stand D29. Do say 'hi' if you're passing by.

Found it!: Put the kettle on and listen from 11:37 - steam sound magic.

Yes, compelling aren't they? Have come across them (or very similar) in our research. Have you found the one of the Royal train passing through? http://www.archive-images.co.uk/index.search.php?sid=535898&img=3 But it's challenging enough building in the 1930s as it is; going back a further generation ... well, I think would make it a lifetime's work. Away from the new Art Deco station building, much of the GNR intrastructure was still in place so there is the potential for there to be quite a period feel of the place, including the platform canopies. Just come across the following Ben Brooksbank photo (via Wikimedia) which I think illustrates that well.

Apologies for delayed response, Tony - the thread has - ever - moved on! At the time, I was undecided re coaling stage or coaling tower. I was concerned that the tower might just be too obstructive at the very front of the layout. In the end, inspiration arrived in the form of a 1936 photo of the shed. There, in the background, is the coaling tower in the early stages of construction. That gave me the idea for the cameo that now exists on the layout - as the tower was constructed 1936-37, then it was right in the middle of our target timeframe (1935-1939) so it was a bit of a 'best of both' solution. (your pic, from Doncaster 2022 shoot) I might get the chance to build a true 'Cenotaph' coaling tower as part of Mark Allatt's Doncaster layout. Don't hold yer breath just yet, though!

My favourites are the recording of two V2 hauled trains in the early hours at Steele Road. The first is in complete charge of its train and storms past quite confidently. The second one? Oh dear! A more 'off beat' loco it would be difficult to find. As if that wasn't enough to contend with, the driver is clearly struggling with the loco keeping its feet before it goes into an almighty slip more or less right alongside where Peter Handford was positioned. Somehow, the loco recovers just in time to avoid coming to a halt and staggers on uncertainly towards Riccarton. Spell-binding stuff.

Latest visit today. There'd been a major box shifting exercise since last visit (3 weeks ago), on the back of the Newcastle show (ultimately abortive), so that was welcome and helped with the first task of the day - construct baseboard for south end of the station. And a few hours later ... This should give a good idea of that end of the room, which I wasn't able to show last time round. You can just see the annoying pillar, extreme left, which juts into the room and has influenced the trackplan. It probably holds the building up though, so perhaps we shouldn't be too hard on it? Of more interest (possibly?), this is intended to show that the left hand side (Doncaster station) is higher than the right hand side (fiddle yard); this is part of a split gradient arrangement to assist with linking the lower and higher levels. Anyhow, with that done, attention turned to tracklaying, seen here in full flow(!) And this is where I got to. The north end of the lower level fiddle yard now complete (in terms of track being laid) Part of the time taken involved fitting these links to point motors, before laying the other tracks on top. Point motors underneath would have been possible but not in all cases. Besides, point motors on top of baseboards are easier to work on. Viewed from the other end, this shows the start of the next ladder of points, the exit from the 'up' circuit. Similar work programmed for next visit, hopefully this side of the festive season.

You should do - he had it built for him😳

Hello Tony. Mark Allatt's LNER Garratt did make one brief run on Grantham in its very early years. Lovely looking model; unfortunately, would only go in a straight line! Some aspects of the model were obviously 'live' and it shorted as soon as one of the engine units came into contact with the boiler unit round a curve! Unsurprisingly (to those who know him), he's ordered a Heljan one ... Talking of Grantham's early days, can you believe it's over 13 years since you took your first pictures of the layout?

Thanks John. The answer is 'Yes, but ...' Much conversation on Wednesday over this. There's an instinctive urge to naturally want to keep the trains running but the whole idea is to hold them 'in section', to simulate them being en route (from one signalbox to another). As is being proved, the concept doesn't really work if you just run straight from one end to the other. Inevitably, one or more operator isn't ready so the train gets held anyway ... not always in the most practical place. There are several places where trains go off-scene, underneath other boards. These are thus designated as holding points - in signalling terms, the 'block section'. As per prototype practice, the operator to whom the train is heading has responsibility for said section (as only they can say whether it is clear from the passage of the previous train). It WILL be possible to 'switch out' some of the these to enable continuous passage of trains when there are only a few operators (say) but otherwise, as described. If there are plenty of trains out on the system then there's less trains clogging up 'the rest of the world' (ie Central station), enabling it to function more efficiently.

Well, back down to earth, after the 'high' of a running session. But here's a train running? Ah, yes, well ... there was a bit of stock movement and sorting out required. Most of those moves are 'in the can' for periodic posting whilst more mundane work continues. So this is presented as the 'last train' (for now). 70054 'Dornoch Firth' has charge of the 'Waverley' through Bog Junction, en route to temporary stabling out of the way at Garsdale. No more than 10 minutes later, and the line is severed (for now!). This lift out piece has turned out not to be ideal so is to be re-worked into a more practical arrangement. With track (and some basic wiring) also now removed, the board is temporarily back in position to weigh up how best to re-work it. In the background the temporary tracks for the running session have been removed; you can see how the curve round from Upperby is heading towards the crossing of this board at the right end end. No going back now - it's in two parts! To be continued...

Hi Philip, Here are some pix of a plain crossing curving mod I did a few years ago. As you can (readily?) see, I let the existing link wires break off and re-soldered them underneath where I removed all the underneath plastic. There's also a cut through the checkrails slightly further inboard too. The arrow is highlighting an important little addition that I do these days: for the outer-most cuts, you're quite close to the rail ends and they will tend to spring back, as there's nothing much holding them in place. What I've done is to re-insert a piece of the underneath plastic previous cut away but a bit longer so that it keeps the sleepers just a bit further apart and thus holds the curve. Result. It's not an absolute perfect curve (the centre portion remains straight) but perfectly good enough for OO. This crossing and two others like it have been installed on HotN for nearly four years now and no problems whatsoever. Note, however, that the rail ends won't quite be level at the ends any more, if you're joining up to other pointwork; I usually have to cut a little bit off the inner rail ends. NB - you CAN'T modify slip points in quite the same way but the principles are much the same. I'll be back on with that and the 3-way point shortly, as I'm doing them at the moment. Graham PS - if you go back just a couple of pages on HotN (p.110, I think?) there's an example of a curved point; large Y combo with rails cut to achieve 45mm spacing.

Have I got it round my neck or wasn't the prototype U1 essentially two O2s running back to back? (mechanically speaking). In which case, a very clever choice by the manufacturer as they can reap the benefit from the development of their earlier models, commonality of parts, etc. All power to Heljan's elbows in continuing to invest in the UK OO RTR steam market.

Hi Glad you found the latest postings on modifying Peco points OK - hope it was useful? I'm modifying quite a few points at the mo, including 3-ways and slips. It is a bit scary when you see the price of them these days, but take it steady and you should be OK. I managed to dislodge a couple of link wires on a recent mod. (I 'forgot' to post about that!) but it's easy enough to solder replacement links in place. One thing I might not have mentioned - I cut my rails these days with a fine piercing saw after years of ... er ... hacking at them with a hacksaw(!) You get a much finer, cleaner cut with the piercing saw - virtually no clean up and much kinder to the surrounding (expensive!) pointwork. (I've never got on with track cutters ...)

To explain a bit further (?) This was set up as a (very) temporary arrangement, so as we could turn trains round at Upperby. The curved board is actually a rough cut of the board that will eventually be there - this will be removable so as to be able to get at Upperby yard and MPD. The nearest board is simply a Shap fiddle yard board put to use. In the fullness of time, the curve will continue round and cross over the Bog Junc tracks to align itself for the approach to Citadel station. Passenger and goods train can be accommodated - obviously, in the case of passenger trains, coming off the goods lines is a bit of a nonsense (for now); the goods train alongside however is prototypically waiting for the road at Carlisle No.13 junction. Birmingham-Glasgow passes southbound fish train on Shap bank. Three for the price of one! A goods trains departs from Central bars said fish train from entering the station, whilst an ordinary passenger train approaches Upperby. Later, the goods train is captured steadily climbing Shap.

Well, some of the recent effort was geared up to a running session today, in honour of the man from upsidedown land. Photography never easy when trying to oversee the running of a layout so I just grabbed a few shots when I could. John Nuttall aka St Enodoc, in the company of another long time Leeds MRS compatriot, Barry O. Others joined in the fray. Jonathan seemed to delight in emptying Dentonholme goods yard. Stanier Pacific's as always well to the fore. Princess Royal 46206 heads out from Central on the Birmingham-Glasgow as Duchess 46252 arrives with the Midday Scot. Here's the full roll call. I think(?) everyone enjoyed themselves, plenty of trains were run and lots of new things learnt. Onwards and upwards.

Well, the eagle has certainly landed. Great to be able host the author of this thread today, in the company of friends old and new. We even ran a few trains. Fuller report to follow in the Hills of the North thread. I suspect one or two more posts may appear here in due course.

Hi Roger, The Peppercorn A2 was designed from the outset as a mixed traffic loco and could be diagrammed equally for freight (albeit, express, time-sensitive workings) as passenger. A quick Google around found this picture: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/496662665138577074/ Nothing mundane about a fish train - it was important, high revenue traffic! I'm sure a further dig around would find more such pictures, even going back to the early 1950s. That date (1961) is at the cusp of the diesel takeover and the start of the rundown of steam. From that date onwards, even the most prestigious of locos could be seen on freight trains. Depends on the era your project is aimed at?

To be fair (2), the Locomotion 'stock shed' is the focal point of a wider, heritage trail site that IS quite well done ... or at least, WAS ... telling the tale of the birth of the railway age in the North East. The enclosed pix are from previous years (2013 & 2016) 'high days' in the summer, when the demonstration line was operating to its full extent. The heritage trail path is alongside and takes you down nearer to Shildon village where the Hackworth house contains informative displays, including the history (and demise) of the nearby wagon works ... or at least, DID ... Sadly, some of the above is in the past tense. Due to the deteriorating condition of the coal drops (best seen to the right of 'Joem' - the arch opening should be vertical and butresses sloping - not the other way round!), the demo line has been cut back to the crossing and the Hackworth house seems to have closed for redevelopment(!) since before Covid. I THINK there's a concerted effort going on to get things brought back up to scratch for S&D200 but I don't actually know for sure (a brief internet search just now didn't reveal too much). Maybe a case of an awkward Science Museum (London) vs local council finance & politics situation ...

Agreed (that that was the question) - and a possible answer is that the manufacturer is taking into account (possibly a little TOO much?) the roller coaster nature of track towards the trainset end of the spectrum. Encounter a high spot in the track and the thing is balancing on its centre drivers with consequent risk of loss of current contact and derailment.

What is now known as 'Locomotion' was only ever planned and built as a glorified warehouse as an NRM spillover, somewhere to house additional rolling stock under cover. That it is now regarded as a museum in its own right is really down to it being a victim of its own success, undoubtedly helped by it being free entry in a part of the country with one of the lowest standards of living in the UK. Whilst I'm sure exhibits could be laid out better, I think it's a case of 'I wouldn't start from here' if it were to be re-worked as a history of the railways. Best railway museum I've ever been to in terms of 'telling the story'? Californian State Railroad museum in Sacramento. You simply couldn't do anything remotely approaching that at Locomotion.

I think it's indicative of the current state of the hobby, Tony. You'd probably get as many modellers modelling 'Southern Region 1966-67 in the Basingstoke area' in the same room as you would the entire era 2 fraternity. 30 years ago, the Big Four era would probably have warranted three separate eras; in 30 years time (probably less) '1948-1968 BR steam' will probably be just the one era. It might even become '1948-1994 British Rail'(!). Who knows? (Who cares?!)